Rose Byrne and Simon Baker in I GIVE IT A YEAR, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Simon Baker and Anna Faris in I GIVE IT A YEAR, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Well at least they found the “one” who they are meant to be with.

Dan Mazer’s I GIVE IT A YEAR is a raunchy British comedy that goes in quite a different direction than most romantic comedies. Prepare yourself for shocking British humor that leaves many on this side of the sea pondering much of what is said and perhaps even frustrated. It is unfortunate that the romantic element is dominated by the trying “all too hard” funny moments, and there is a lot to miss when a genuine love story in copious comedy.

It is love at first sight for a successful career woman Nat (Rose Byrne) and struggling novelist Josh (Rafe Spall) when they meet at a New Years at a party. After several months of dating and just shy of a year, the two decide to get married. However, their friends are skeptical. They doubt they would make it to their first year anniversary together. This is just about the time that Josh’s ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Faris) return from her trip to Africa–and Nat enters a business relationship with an attractive American businessman Guy (Simon Baker). You can pretty much predict what immediately happens after.

The tale would not be all bad if it were not for Danny (Stephen Merchant), a friend of Josh’s, expert potty mouth. Simon Baker’s “Guy” and Rose Byrne’s “Nat” were the only two characters that truly contributed positively to the film. Perhaps this is due to their often professional moments of flirtation that made me want to see more of them and less of what went on around them. We can often too inappropriate “Danny” script to Mazer–a writer who has worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on Borat.

This is absolutely a film for fans of Cohen’s style of brash comedy. It is definitely for those with an acquired comedic taste.

I Give It A Year special features include:

• Outtakes: The Doves
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Making of I Give It a Year: Relationships & Marriages
• Making of I Give It a Year: The Characters
• Cast and Crew Interviews
• International Interviews

I Give It A Year presents in amazing clarity and brilliant widescreen presentation courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Clear and crisp visual quality brings out the beauty of the character costumes and sets with the audio being easy to understand without the use of subtitles. The soundtrack in the film is enhanced by the wonderful quality of the disc’s audio capabilities. The Blu-Ray extras include blooper reels and outtakes that took place on set while filming. The two doves used in a scene featuring Nat and Guy proved particularly interesting.